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Stuart Law, the former Australia batsman, is considering retiring from the first-class stage, claiming it is getting tougher to cope with the pressures of county cricket. Law, whose contract with Lancashire ends this season, was guarded about seeking an extension.”It’s [retirement] up in the air,” Law told . “There’s a bit of water to pass under the bridge between now and then. After a day’s play, the body’s in bits, rigor mortis sets in. It’s getting harder and harder.”Law’s prolific county career has lasted 11 years, first with Essex and then with Lancashire. He played one Test, against Sri Lanka in Perth in 1995, and was a regular in the one-day side for much of the 1990s. He last represented Australia in 1999 and has since acquired British citizenship.Law, 38, showed no signs of wear and tear when scoring 206 in Lancashire’s innings victory against Yorkshire at Headingley last week, but said he would take his time before deciding on his future. “I’m seeing the ball better than I’ve ever done before, maybe because there’s no pressure to forge a career,” he said. “Now it’s about enjoying yourself and having a good time. Hopefully I won’t be rushed into a decision. It’d be nice to sit back, reflect and see where I am.”Law is also among the overseas players being considered for the Indian Cricket League. With the Twenty20 contest set to start in September, Law said he would definitely consider the offer as it presented an opportunity to play alongside big names such as Brian Lara.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the Twenty20 victory over Australia would give his team momentum as they prepare to take on Pakistan in a one-day and Test series starting next month.”This victory, as well as the last ODI victory, will give us a lot of confidence. International cricket is more about confidence than technique,” Dhoni said after India beat Australia in the one-off Twenty20 International at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.”Gautam (Gambhir) and Robin (Uthappa) have matured and played aggressively,” he said while praising his side for coming out with a fearless outlook. “They are aggressive but at times they may fail trying for shots and they may be criticised for playing rash shots but that’s how it is.”The virgin pitch used for the game helped the spinners; Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik did not disappoint despite having to bowl in tough situations. “Kartik was preferred over Joginder because of conditions,” Dhoni said. “In India, we have to generally sacrifice the fourth seamer for second spinner. Today we batted well and bowled well but fielding was not good because of the bumpy ground. Everyone responded well to responsibilities given to them and that is why we won.”Dhoni’s counterpart, Ricky Ponting, felt his team did not get enough runs on the board. “We fell short by 15 runs. We gave away too many extras – 23 extras means four extra overs. We did it the other night also and we need to buck up,” he said. “Harabhan and Kartik bowled well. Gambhir batted well. We would like to play more matches against the new generation Indian players.”

Kent, after winning the toss and electing to bat moved comfortably on to 100-2 at the lunch time interval scoring at 2.9 per over.Leicestershire felt that if there was to be anything in the wicket then itwould be early on and once again Jimmy Ormond duly obliged. Ormond, with an average of 24.40 and taking 42 wickets so far this season, picked up the first wicket of Hockley through a regulation catch to the wicket keeper Neil Burns. He then had Fulton caught at first slip when the score had reached 42.Since then Kent have never really looked in any difficulty especially withDravid at the crease. He looked to dominate the bowling from the start andquickly raced on to 41. Most of his boundaries were scored square of the wicket indicating that the Leicestershire bowlers were bowling too short at times.

Day 2 Centuries from Reeza Hendricks and Johnathan Vandiar on the second day gave South Africa Under-19 the advantage in their three-day match against Bangladesh Under-19 in Potchefstroom. The two shared a 166-run stand for the fourth wicket and were not parted until the Bangladesh’s first-innings score of 294 was surpassed as South Africa finished the day on 393 for 4, a lead of 99 runs.Resuming on 35 for 1, South Africa lost Riley Rossouw in the day’s third over for the addition of just one run. Opener Jon-Jon Smuts was joined by Hendricks and the two added 93 at a brisk pace. Smuts was particularly aggressive, hitting three sixes and nine boundaries before falling to medium-pacer Rony Talukder.That brought to the crease Vandiar, who was in a similarly belligerent mood, chalking up 18 fours and a six during his stay. He scored the bulk of the runs during his partnership with Hendricks and was finally dismissed by Nasir Hossain on 103 off 151 balls.Hendricks held firm after Vandiar fell, and forged an unbroken 98-run stand with Yaseen Vallie. The 18-year-old Hendricks, who has played for Griqualand-West in the South African Airways Provincial Three-Day challenge since the previous season, finished the day unbeaten on a four-hour 145. South Africa maintained a breezy run-rate of four an over through their innings.The three-day match is followed by a triangular one-day tournament, scheduled to start on Tuesday, that also features India U-19.

Australia will host Bangladesh in three one-day internationals in Darwin in August and September, but the two Tests have been scrapped. The original series schedule clashed with the Beijing Olympics, which run from August 8 to 24, and the Test component has been postponed.The matches will be played at Darwin’s Marrara Stadium on August 31 and September 3 and 6. “Cricket Australia is committed to promoting Darwin on the international stage and also as an ideal training base for development squads in the off-season,” the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said.”Darwin has hosted Australian men’s and women’s teams in the past and has been an attractive training venue for international teams given the favourable climate. The location and [dry season] climate are ideal for matches during the Australian winter when playing cricket in the southern states is simply not considered.”

Kanbis secured their fourth consecutive NPCA Super League title on the last full weekend of matches, but it was a damp end to a season blighted by the refusal of Swamibapa to fulfill their fixtures.Stray Lions A, in second place, needed Kanbis to lose their last game to have chance of overtaking them, but Swamibapa, their opposition, refused to play, so handing Kanbis 20 points and the title. Few doubted that they deserved to win the league but they were robbed of their moment of triumph being on the field. It is also worth noting that despite Kanbis’s success, not one of their players is in the national side.What is particularly galling is that despite their actions, Swamibapa will remain in the top flight in 2008 as they accrued enough points before they decided to stop playing to ensure they did not finish bottom. In most other major leagues, a unilateral refusal to honour fixtures would result in expulsion, or at the least relegation, but the NPCA seems reluctant to take any action against the club.Ruaraka A cruised to the Division One title with Kanbis B some way behind in second. Again, the effective withdrawal of Swamibapa, who were pressing the top two at the time, spoiled the competition. Ruaraka sealed their title with a crushing nine-wicket win over bottom side Shree Cutchi Lews Youth League.Parklands Sports Club top Division Two but can still be overtaken if fourth-placed Telca take maximum points from their last match against Qutbis Sports Club.Nairobi Jaffery secured the third-division title, remaining unbeaten and winning all but one of their matches.NPCA Super Division

Scorecard

Haidee Tiffen was responsible for guiding New Zealand to a relatively comfortable consolation win to end the Rose Bowl Series in Darwin. After handing over the trophy to Australia on Saturday, the captain Tiffen made sure of a 3-2 final result with an unbeaten 66 that pushed her side past the hosts’ 9 for 180.Karen Rolton won the toss and Australia started strongly, but once the openers Shelley Nitschke and Melissa Bulow were dismissed the innings fell away. Nitschke was stumped off Sarah Tsukigawa for 47 and Bulow departed with 51 when the team was in good health at 2 for 115.However, New Zealand struck regularly over the final 20 overs to restrict their opponents to a total they reached with 5.1 overs to spare. Australia had a chance when the visitors were 4 for 75 after Sara McGlashan had retired hurt with an injured knee, but Tiffen received valuable assistance from Nicola Browne, the Player of the Series, and Rachel Priest (39) on the way to a four-wicket win.Rolton was delighted with Australia’s showing throughout the series. “I think all the games were tough and well-contested but I guess our good record against New Zealand helped us come through in close finishes. I think New Zealand played good cricket and it has some exciting young players who should make their names in years to come.”Tiffen, meanwhile, called for more consistency from her team. “It was disappointing to lose the series. We need to be more consistent in all facets of the game. We have come out of our winter and both the Rose Bowl and the England tour will provide us with an opportunity to expose players to international cricket before the World Cup.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary

Herschelle Gibbs’ bristling 102 and a classy 74 from Jacques Kallis took South Africa to their fifth win of the series, whitewashing West Indies who were soundly beaten by eight wickets in Johannesburg. With 26 runs needed from 34 balls, out marched Shaun Pollock to carry his side home for the last time and, with a flay past point for two, the fairytale was complete.Initially set 296 before two rain interruptions, South Africa found the going tough in their first five overs. In dank conditions, the ball nibbled around for Daren Powell and his opening partner, Ravi Rampaul, and Graeme Smith, for the umpteenth time, edged one onto his stumps as he played across the line. Gibbs continued to look out of sorts, as he has done all series, scratching around unconvincingly to the disciplined lines of West Indies’ opening attack.And then the rains came. After an hour’s break, the players resumed for six balls before a more sustained torrent forced them off for longer, while also reducing South Africa’s target to 211 from 31 overs. Out came the sun, and in the next five overs Gibbs took the attack to West Indies in a breathtaking display of power-hitting.Up until that moment he had made 10 runs from 23 balls, but two consecutive fours off Powell got his feet moving before he laid into Dwayne Bravo, lofting him over long-off for a huge six and flaying another past point. In five overs, South Africa mowed 66 runs and West Indies were falling apart. Their bowling was ill-disciplined and nervy; their fielding, at times, a shambles, especially Runako Morton, who twice let the ball through his legs for fours. These are the factors which have ultimately cost them the series.Quite by contrast, West Indies’ batting has steadily improved with each match and today’s effort was particularly impressive, tinged with end-of-term frolicking. Devon Smith fell nine short of his maiden one-day hundred and batted fearlessly throughout, cracking 10 fours and lofting three huge sixes. When he and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were together, West Indies had every hope of setting South Africa a total well in excess of 300.West Indies’ 100 was brought up in the 16th over, as Chanderpaul busied himself rather anonymously in contrast to Smith, with a selection of nudges and well judged singles. And as the pair’s hundred partnership was brought up from just 87 balls, West Indies were in control.With distinct inevitability, it didn’t last. Eyeing his maiden one-day hundred, Smith edged Charl Langeveldt to Boucher for a bristling 91. And two overs later, Langeveldt trapped Chanderpaul leg-before with a fine, inswinging delivery to leave West Indies’ frail middle-order with work to do. South Africa – a bowler short when Andre Nel limped off with a hamstring injury after three overs – worked their way through the middle-order before Rawl Lewis carved 28 from 18 balls, including three massive sixes off the sub-par Dale Steyn, to set the hosts a testing total.It wasn’t enough, though, and in spite of the earlier rain, a near-to-capacity Bullring cheered on Pollock for one last time. After creaming Rampaul for four through the covers, he flayed him for two down to third man to seal the win, complete a 5-0 whitewash for his team and conclude an outstanding career.”It’s been a fantastic journey for me but retiring is all good,” Pollock said after the match. “I have real peace about it. It’s been a great profession to have for the last 12 years and I would do it all again. My philosophy was very much ‘keep it simple, stupid’.”

Andre Adams bowled Auckland to the top of the table with a ten-wicket match haul against Northern Districts in Auckland. Adams has been in devastating form this summer and has 29 first-class wickets at 8.27, adding relevance to his decision to make himself unavailable to play ODIs for New Zealand under the national team’s current administration. Auckland are the beneficiaries of that decision, however, and they beat last year’s champions Northern Districts by an innings and 16 runs. Adams collected 4 for 30 in Northern Districts’ first-innings 169 and 6 for 28 in their second effort of 101. Despite the low scores, Adams said the pitch at the Eden Park Outer Oval was flat. “The new ball seams here, that’s all there is to it,” Adams told the . “If you get through that then you stand a chance. If you don’t, you are in deep.” The result might have been much closer and Auckland could easily have trailed on the first innings when they crashed to 85 for 8, but a 151-run ninth-wicket stand from Reece Young (114) and the 18-year-old debutant Greg Morgan (83 not out) pushed them to 286.Matthew Bell kept up his push for attention from the national selectors when he made 265 in the draw between Central Districts and Wellington in Napier. Bell now has 722 runs from four games this season at the remarkable average of 103.14 and will be considered when the squad for the Test series against Bangladesh is chosen. His effort against Central Districts was his highest first-class score and the third highest of all-time for Wellington, behind innings of 296 and 283 by John Reid. Bell’s blitz did not help his side gain any points, though, as Central Districts led on the first innings thanks largely to Greg Hay, who made an unbeaten 164 in their 486. Neal Parlane top scored with 134 in Wellington’s first innings of 373 before Bell and Luke Woodcock (104) combined for a 253-run opening stand in the second innings. Wellington finished at 468 for 5 and lost their top spot on the State Championship table.Rain ended any chance of a result in Christchurch, where Canterbury had to settle for first innings points against Otago. A 187-run stand between Peter Fulton, who made 126, and Johann Myburgh (105) set up a strong 397 after Otago sent Canterbury in. Otago replied with 365 but while most of their batsmen made starts, they needed somebody to post a century. Instead, Derek de Boorder top scored with an unbeaten 71. Canterbury were 54 for 1 at the close of the third day but rain prevented any play on the final day and left Canterbury third and Otago fourth on the table.Player of the Week Andre Adams
A minor technical adjustment to his bowling action has clearly been an excellent move for Adams, who at 32 is in the form of his life. He finished with match figures of 10 for 58 in Auckland’s convincing win over Northern Districts, giving him his second ten-wicket match in a decade-long first-class career. He now has three five-wicket hauls this summer and his 29 wickets have come at a remarkable 8.27 as he continues to enjoy the seaming Auckland conditions. He has said he will not play ODIs for New Zealand under the team’s current administration but he was non-committal on whether that extended to Tests as well. If he keeps up his form, New Zealand fans might soon find out.

Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has said that Australia’s decision to avoid touring Pakistan may have a disastrous affect on the Champions Trophy, which is scheduled to be held in Pakistan in September.”I’m fearful for the Champions Trophy,” Lawson said. “The Australians have set a bad example by opting out of the tour and I’m not sure whether they would come here for the Champions Trophy.”Australia were supposed to play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 international in March-April but they eventually pulled out of the commitment, citing security concerns in the wake of a series of suicide bombings in various parts of the country.Lawson said that there was a possibility that other leading teams might follow suit. There were fears that if one or more competing teams raised any security fears then the International Cricket Council (ICC) might decide to move the Champions Trophy out of Pakistan. With Sri Lanka, the back-up hosts for the Champions Trophy also battling an insurgency by Tamil rebels, there was a likelihood that the Champions Trophy might eventually fall in the lap of South Africa. Earlier this year, the ICC was forced to take away the Women’s World Cup Qualifiers from Pakistan after competing teams raised safety concerns. The tournament was later held in South Africa.”Hopefully, things will get better and the tournament will be held in Pakistan according to schedule,” Lawson said. On a positive note, Lawson said that he and his charges were setting their sights on the home series against Bangladesh next month. On the request of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Bangladesh agreed to play five ODIs and a Twenty20 game in April.”It’s great to know that Bangladesh have no security concerns,” Lawson said. “They can be a tough team to beat,” he added. Pakistan sole assignment in 2008 so far has been a five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe at home. The hosts made a 5-0 clean sweep in the series that failed to produce any exciting cricket.Critics are expecting a similar rout of Bangladesh but Lawson said that his team would not be taking anything for granted. “Bangladesh have proved time and again that they are capable of producing upsets and I’m sure they would be a much tougher side than Zimbabwe.”